Dan Curtis joins Amylon Therapeutics as Chief Development Officer
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 26 June 2018
Amylon Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using an ultragenetics approach towards neurological disorders, announces the appointment of Daniel Curtis PhD as its new Chief Development Officer. In his role, Dan will be responsible for driving the company’s lead program AT-010 forward, expanding the pipeline, and overseeing all R&D activities.
Dr. Curtis joins Amylon from Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research (NIBR), where he served in various leadership roles over the past 15 years. In his most recent position as Portfolio Director Neuroscience, he played a key role in setting up and building out the company’s Central Nervous Systems (CNS) portfolio. He played a leadership role in the discovery and development of programs for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), depression, pediatric seizures, and migraines. Including branaplam: a small molecule therapy for SMA type 1 infants that is currently being evaluated in clinical trials as well as AimovigTM, a CGRP receptor targeted antibody therapeutic that was recently approved for the treatment of migraine.
“It is my great pleasure to welcome Dan to our leadership team”, said Thomas de Vlaam, Chief Executive Officer of Amylon. “Dan’s experience in CNS diseases and drug development is crucial in our mission to deliver innovative therapies to patients with neurological disorders as fast as possible.”
“Amylon is very well positioned to bring RNA-based therapeutics to genetically defined patient populations suffering from neurological diseases”, said Dr. Curtis. “I am thrilled to join this dymanic team at a time of great opportunity to bring effective drug candidates into the clinic.”
Before his position at NIBR, Dr. Curtis was part of the scientific team at Exelixis. Dr. Curtis received his B.A. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, his PhD, Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology from Harvard University, and worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He has authored more than 20 articles in the field of neurology, biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology.
About Amylon
Amylon Therapeutics targets CNS disorders through an ultra-genetics approach, focusing on rare genetic disorders that can serve as a possible gateway to more frequently occurring indications. The anti-amyloid technology of Amylon allows a focus on different disorders, with a primary focus on HCHWA-D and CAA. Amylon is led by founder Thomas de Vlaam, complemented by a scientific board of experienced scientists and biotech veterans. As a spin-off from the publicly-traded ProQR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PRQR), Amylon enjoys a wealth of knowledge and experience through its shareholders and network.
About AT-010
AT-010 is a first-in-class RNA-based oligonucleotide that induces splicing modulation in the mature Amyloid Precursor Protein mRNA resulting in a protein that lacks the aggregation prone Beta-amyloid peptide.
About Katwijk’s disease/HCHWA-D
Hereditary Cerebral Hemorrhage with Amyloidosis of the Dutch type (HCHWA-D), more commonly known as Katwijk’s disease, is the genetic subtype of CAA, in which a point mutation leads to the accelerated onset of disease. The condition is characterized by a progressive loss of intellectual function (dementia), stroke, and other neurological problems starting in mid-adulthood. Most affected individuals die within a decade after signs and symptoms first appear, and after the onset the quality of life diminishes quickly and severely. There is currently no intervention available nor in development to battle the cause and/or symptoms of HCHWA-D.